ALT 1. Make relationship-building the number one priority – the big, big rock. With coaching as with teaching, building relationships is foundational to learning together. When educators know that you’re on their side, that you care about them and that you’re approaching them from a place of respect, they’re more coachable.

ALT 2. Give teachers opportunities to see math teaching beyond the walls of their classrooms. Sometimes, seeing effective teaching in innovative ways or in unfamiliar contexts, observing peers or attending professional learning opportunities and conferences can open up a teacher’s thinking.

ALT 3. Emphasize the power of lifelong learning. Teachers can feel insecure about their gaps in expertise, so I try to remind them that as practitioners in the field of education, our education is never complete. We need to stay willing and open to push the envelope, take risks and try new things to see the results our students deserve. As a coach, I’m on that lifelong learning journey with them.